Always And Never
by Are We Human
Summary: Jesse,Alice,Maggie and Lori are all living in Manhattan in NY. Coincidence? Freddy is using Alice's son Jacob in order to come back, skipped other idea. Together, the survivors of previous Nightmare movies must unite together to destroy Freddy. More insid
1. Epilogue: Jesse And Alice

Okay, this is my first official Nightmare On Elm Street fic. It's an idea that I hope hasn't been demonstrated yet. Basically it features the survivors of the Nightmare movies, Jesse, Alice, Maggie and Lori. Nancy and Kristen may come back as spirits or something but who knows. Set 2 years after Freddy VS Jason. Freddy's body was mutilated by Jason so he is forced to posess another human being in order to come back. Alice's son Jacob is also in this. Hope you enjoy it.. this is just the epilouge i will continue If i get more reviews.

**--**

Alice hadn't seen him coming. Her eyes had been locked on the wad of paperwork she had been holding close to her chest, when she felt someone knock her right shoulder and she stumbled forwards, collapsing onto to the ground. "Oh, my god - are you okay?" Someone said to her. Alice groaned and picked herself up. Her paperwork was scattered across the ground where she had fallen. Rolling her eyes, she knelt down and began to clear it up.

"Uh, excuse me?" Alice turned her head and saw a young man with short fair hair watching her, an apologetic look on his face. He looked sencerely embarressed, and rightly so, Alice thought to herself. Things had been bad enough that day without this happening. "Uh, miss? I'm sorry," The young man said to her, and to Alice's surprise he knelt down beside her and began to help her. "I was just in a hurry."

"It's fine, really," Alice said quickly, but it wasn't fine at all. She wasn't exactly feeling great and this didn't help matters. "Look, I'll clear it up. You'd best go if you're in a hurry," She said hastily, almost slapping his hand away as it reached for one of her files.

The man smiled, "No, really, I'd better help you clean it up," He replied, and Alice looked at him for a moment and felt herself blushing. Well, atleast he had the decency to help her tidy it up. "What's your name?" He added, looking away from her.

Alice was startled by this, but tried not to show it. "Oh, um - Alice. My name's Alice," She answered him, managing a faint smile, "I'm sorry I was a little snappy before, I've just been having a really hectic day.."

"Really? I'm sorry to hear that," The man said, "I'm Jesse. I was just in a hurry because -" He sighed, "I'm proposing to my girlfriend tonight."

"Oh, that's great," Alice said cheerfully as she picked up the last of her paperwork, "Well, you seem really nice. So, I'm guessing she's very lucky to be with someone like you." She added, biting her lip. Why had she said that? _So stupid.._

Jesse laughed, and Alice's cheeks flushed crimson, "I guess so. So where do you live? I haven't seen you around here before."

"Oh, just a few blocks down," Alice said conversationally, standing up straight to face him, "I work at the Manhattan Borough High School, it's not that far from here."

"You're a teacher? That's great!" Jesse replied, and Alice beamed. She was glad and also quite relieved to find that he was interested in what she did and liked her on first sight. Most people thought she was strange, like she kept herself to herself, and didn't have or want to have a lot of friends. This wasn't true. Alice longed to be accepted, but she knew a lot of people still knew of what had happened to her those sixteen years ago.

"Yeah, I suppose it is," Alice said, "Where do you work?"

"I'm a lawyer," Jesse said casually, "I'd much rather be a teacher sometimes, It's a pretty stressful job," He joked, and they both laughed. "Well, I sort of have to get going now. But it was really nice talking to you, uh..?"

"Alice," Alice said promptly, "Alice Johnson."

Jesse smiled at her. Alice smiled back at him and for a moment there was something there, some strange connection between them. Alice felt that she knew so much about him already though they barely knew eachother. "Well Alice, remember Jesse Walsh, and maybe we'll see eachother again sometime." Jesse said, arousing Alice from her thoughts.

Alice's smile widened just slightly. "Okay, maybe we will," She stared down at the ground and then looked up at him again, her red hair blowing in the wind, "Anyway, I'm so sorry to have kept you, Jesse." She made to turn away but then looked back at him and added: "Oh, and I hope your girlfriend accepts your proposal."

Jesse laughed and Alice's heart skipped a beat. "You and me both, Alice." He said, and then he was gone.

Alice watched him walk away and then turned around and began walking in the opposite direction. _Jesse, Jesse Walsh, _Alice thought to herself, and smiled, _I'll have to remember that name._


	2. Chapter 1: Maggie

"For god's sake, Maggie, you have to listen to me."

"Why _should _I? You just keep coming out with this bullshit."

"Maggie -"

"Oh, shut up Paul. I'm really getting sick of listening to you ranting on and on at me. If you really dislike me so much, fire me! But I know you can't possibly bring yourself do that, because I'm the only one here who can deal with the kids we have here!"

"_QUIET!" _Paul roared at her, and Maggie was silenced. "Maggie, I just don't think that the kind of things you do with the kids, or the kind of things you _tell _them about are appropriate. I want you to stop, Maggie. Please, for the sake of the kids."

"I'm trying to help them, Paul!" Maggie exclaimed, grabbing the arms of her chair and flaring up, "You don't know what I've dealt with during the past few years. I just don't want the kids to experience what I've been through. And by doing what I'm doing with them I can really help them."

"Maggie -" Paul began, but Maggie wouldn't hear of it.

"No, Paul. I _have _to do this, because something inside of me knows he's going to come back," Maggie said, and she sounded quite calm though she was shaking, "Lately I've been having nightmares again.."

"Maggie, if you're having nightmares you should see someone about it, you shouldn't share them with the kids," Paul argued, but Maggie barely heard him. She got up and began to pace the room, not looking directly at Paul.

"I never told you about it, did I?" Maggie said quietly, "I never told you about why I came here. You've always seen me as some sort of basket case, haven't you, Paul? Even though I'm great with the kids that's how you see me, isn't it?" She looked at him, searching his face for an answer, but his eyes revealed nothing. "Well, just as well, isn't it? You wouldn't even believe me, anyway."

Paul sighed. "Maggie, ever since you've arrived here you've never opened up to anyone. By means, you've never spoken of your past. Is there something troubling you?" He enquired, "Maggie, please tell me. I want to understand."

"Well, that's just it," Maggie said, and laughed shakily, "You can't, Paul. You can't and you never will. And anyway, you've never even tried to understand me. I've been here for so many years so why is it that you've never even attempted to have this conversation with me before? _Well?" _She glared at him. Paul seemed to recoil and nodded as if he agreed with her.

"I'm sorry, Maggie, I just don't -" Paul couldn't finish. He just stared at her helplessly, "If you're having trouble, please talk to someone here about it. It doesn't have to be me, but Maggie, I'm getting so worried about you. And you say you've never been married, never had children. I feel like I don't even know you anymore," His face darkened, "Not that I ever did, of course."

Maggie didn't answer him, and a moment later she heard the door close as Paul quietly left the room. She folded her arms and felt the tears prickling in her eyes. No, noone understood her. Ever since that summer of '91, Maggie had become a different person. She didn't talk to Tracey anymore, but missed her. She didn't even know where Doc was anymore. They had talked on previous occassions but now Maggie felt the two of them had drifted apart.

She stared out of the window as the rain pattered dismally against it, and longed for things to be the way they had been before he had come.. before he had clawed his way back into her life.


	3. Chapter 2: Freddy Returns

I know it's not that good yet, but it will get better, I promise. (: Anyway, for now here's the latest chapter. They will be getting longer, I'm just introducing the characters.

**--**

When Alice returned to her appartment she was feeling surprisingly light-headed. Part of her knew that she probably wouldn't be seeing Jesse Walsh again, but another part of her ignored this and didn't care. She had liked what she saw in him, and..

_Alice, you don't even know him, _an annoying voice said inside her head, _he could be a jerk for all you know. _

"Well, he seemed all right to me.." Alice said dreamily, ignoring it completely. She quickly made herself a cup of coffee before retiring to the living room to go through some paperwork. At the same time she wondered why Jacob wasn't home yet, but disregarded it when she remembered he had told her that he wouldn't be home untill nine o'clock that night. Alice felt that some of her friends didn't think she was worthy of being a mother but Alice knew that Jacob was a good kid and that he would never get mixed up anything stupid.

The sky darkened outside. Alice had been going over lesson plans for the next day in her head but found that her mind was wandering to something else. _Jesse Walsh. _Someone Alice couldn't stop herself from thinking about him. He would have proposed to his girlfriend by now, probably, and the two of them would now be enjoying a bottle of champagne or something. Or going out on their engagement night. Alice sighed and thought about the possibility of getting married. She didn't find herself really attractive but had heard from her friends that some men did. This had come as quite a shock to Alice, but she had been flattered nonetheless.

_Alice Walsh. _It had a ring to it, Alice though. Then she shook her head vigourously. "You don't _know _him," She said, thinking aloud, "For all you know he could be some loser who likes hitting on women he meets on the street."

Then the thought suddenly occured to Alice: _had _he been hitting on her? He had certainly sounded interested in what she had been telling him. He had never been able to take his eyes off her, infact. So, maybe then..

No. He was engaged. Well, he would be, if he wasn't already. Alice set aside the paperwork she had been busy with and lounged on the sofa, thoughts turning over in her mind. Not thoughts of Jesse Walsh, however, Alice had decided that he was taken and hadn't been interested in her at all. Her thoughts were now on her son Jacob.

Jacob had grown up to be a very handsome young man, and though he was only sixteen, he was very mature for his age. Sometimes Alice liked to think that Jacob was the one taking care of her, and she had mentioned this to him many times. Alice had been alone for the past twelve years. Well, not _alone. _Obviously she had been on some dates, slept with some guys, and maybe - _maybe, _she had felt fireworks with some of the men she had been with, but Alice was beginning to realise it now - she had never been in a serious relationship.

Besides Dan. Oh, yes. Dan, Dan, Dan.. Alice missed him. He had been her first love, and she had lost him to -

No. Don't think about it.

_Goddamnit don't think about it._

But Alice _was _thinking about it. She couldn't really _not _think about it. Jacob might not have survived if it weren't for her. Alice treasured Jacob above everything else, if she lost him she wouldn't know what to do with herself. He was everything to her.

But he was growing up, and Alice understood that. She couldn't hold onto him for comfort forever, because he would leave eventually.. he would graduate highschool, maybe go to college, get a job, get married, have kids.. all of these possibilities thrilled Alice but she still couldn't bear to see him go. Just two more years..

_Two more years._

Alice was beginning to feel sleepy; her hair was resting against the arm of the couch. Her eyes drooped, and eventually closed. She felt sleep overcoming her, and all thoughts of Jacob and Jesse Walsh were washed away..

**--**

Alice opened her eyes.

She was standing alone in a forest of some kind. She shuddered, even though it was only a dream it was still freezing cold. Alice trudged forwards, through the forest untill she finally came to an abandoned dilpilated house. Alice looked up at the old house and felt a chill down her spine. She knew exactly where she was. 1428 Elm Street.

_You're only here because you were thinking about Dan, _Alice told herself inside her head, _That's why you're here. Freddy's gone. You dealt with him a long time ago, Alice._

Nevertheless, Alice was overwhelmed by a strange feeling of curiousty and without thinking she went up to the house, glancing around uncertainly as she did so. For some time Alice had revisited 1428 Elm Street in her dreams but had found nothing there. She had woken up feeling stupid about searching for something in her _dream _but still felt a little bit curious after each and every dream.

Alice tensed herself before opening the door, which creaked violently as it swung open. As usual, the house was just ruins. Nothing there, nothing but..

_Jacob?_

It was like Alice had opened the door to the past. She was standing there, glued to the spot, staring at her son Jacob in horror. It was like a de ja vu, only Jacob wasn't small as he had been all those years ago. He was older. This same thing had happened sixteen years ago, but it couldn't mean anything, could it?

"Jacob?" Alice said, her voice wavering in shock, "Jacob, what are you doing here?"

Jacob turned to look at her, and Alice saw that he was trembling uncontrollably. He face was contorted into one of fear, and he looked on the verge of tears. "M - Mom?" He said shakily, and Alice saw the tears burning in his eyes, "W - What are y - you - ?"

Before he could finish there was a loud crashing sound, then silence. Alice looked around and then looked back at Jacob. Her heart was racing. Jacob didn't say anything else, so Alice went over to him and pulled him close to her for a hug. "Jacob.. what the hell are you doing here?" She whispered, letting go of him.

"I - I don't know," Jacob said shakily, "I - I was just a - asleep, and I - I was here."

Alice didn't know what to say to that. He had been _asleep? Where?_

"Where were you? I know you weren't at home," Alice shot him a severe look and Jacob looked away from her. "Okay, we'll do this later. Jacob, have you been having nightmares again? Please, tell me." Her hands were on his shoulders, she felt like shaking him but didn't.

"I don't know how I got here, okay?" Jacob snapped, pulling away from her, "And I haven't been having nightmares. That stopped a long time ago." His eyes were burning and a part of Alice thought it was best to leave it but another part of her needed to find out why they were there.

"Jacob, I -"

That loud crashing noise happened again. Alice jumped and stumbled backwards but kept her balance. Jacob was barely aware that she was there, he was looking as though he would rather sink through the floorboards and never be seen by the human eye again.

A horrible though suddenly came to Alice and her heart sank. She turned to Jacob, "Jacob, he's not _back, _is he?" She enquired, hoping for his sake and hers that _he _hadn't returned.

Jacob bit his lip but didn't reply. Before either of them could say anything else, however, the ceiling came crashing down from above them. Alice screamed and grabbed Jacob, throwing the both of them out of the way. Something hard had fallen on her legs and she was paralysed.

After a few minutes, Alice looked up and saw that Jacob had hit his head. He was glancing at her bleary eyed. Alice glanced around desperatedly, and froze. She found she couldn't breath, all the air had vanished from her lungs, she was falling with no hope of..

"Hi, Alice."

Alice looked up at him again, feeling nauseated. It was Krueger. He was there, she wasn't seeing things. But she had beaten him, she had defeated him, she'd shut him out for good..

"Not gonna say hello to your good old friend from the past, Alice?" Freddy Krueger said, and laughed. "It's been a while." He added, with a malicious look.

"Yeah, _too _long," Alice growled, wriggling around trying to free her legs, "I thought that you'd come back sooner."

"Well, I've been busy," Freddy said darkly, "But, then I remembered how much _Jacob _-" He sneered at Jacob, who was barely even aware of his surroundings, "- _helped _me to get more of those delicious souls from the children." He licked his lips, "And now, he's going to do the same for me _all over _again. But that's all right with you, isn't it, Alice?"

Alice hated him. She would have attempted to claw his eyes out if she hadn't been stuck. "You bastard. Why couldn't you just leave us alone? After everything you put us through.. you just couldn't let it rest, could you?"

Freddy laughed out loud at this, "No, I suppose I couldn't. But don't worry, I won't kill you - yet. I may have uses for you in the near future," His face split in a malevolent grin, "I've learned that some of those who have defeated me in the past are here and I'll make sure they don't get away _this _time," He laughed again and raised his claw, waving the blades at her, mocking her.

"You mean, other survivors?" Alice replied, her right leg free.

"Yes, other survivors," Freddy mumbled, glancing down at her in disdain, "Lori, that stupid girl got in the way of everything.. and Maggie, oh, my own daughter.. how could she do it? And _Jesse.._"

"What?" Alice suddenly abandoned trying to free her other leg, "Jesse?"

Freddy didn't answer. He was looking at Jacob, Alice knew that he hated him. After he had used them both to kill these 'survivors' he would kill _them. _Alice looked over at Jacob and saw that he was now unconcious. He was fading away, he was waking up..

"Well, that settles things for now," Freddy concluded, "For now, Alice."

Alice saw the hateful look in his eyes and that malicious grin before she woke with a start, sitting bolt upright. She glanced down at both her legs and saw a large cut on her left leg. Cursing, Alice went to put a bandage on it, then remembered what Freddy had told her before.

"Jesse.." She said to herself, "_Jesse. That's it." _Of _course. _She had been _supposed _to bump into Jesse that day. _He _was one of the survivors.

Jacob arrived home a few minutes later and he and Alice tried to make sense of what had just happened to them. But all the time, Alice kept thinking of Jesse, and how she needed to warn him of what was to come.

**--**

Like it? More coming soon :D


	4. Chapter 3: Lori

The song is by Roadrunner United - The End.

**--**

_Just when you thought it was over  
The sky turned black and we all fell to Earth  
Dead in our tracks, we were frozen in fact  
Choking to breathe, then came the seas  
Wash away impurities, wash away all that couldn't be_

Everyone will be washed away  
Drowning in the hell that we made  
I cannot believe that our end is so near 

Everyone will be washed away  
Drowning in the hell that we made  
I cannot believe that our end is so near

Standing at the end of our world  
Breathing in the chaos behold  
None will be found, it's all toppling down  
Cities will seethe, none could believe  
Wash away impurities, wash away all that couldn't be 

Everyone will be washed away  
Drowning in the hell that we made  
I cannot believe that their end is so near

Everyone will be washed away  
Drowning in the hell that we made  
I cannot believe that our end is so near

Save me  
Save me from what will engulf this world  
Save us  
Save us from the end, save us from ourselves  
Save me  
Save me from what will engulf this world

Just when you thought it was over  
The sky turned black and we all fell to Earth

Everyone will be washed away  
Drowning in the hell that we made  
I cannot believe that our end is so near

Everyone will be washed away   
Drowning in the hell that we made  
I cannot believe that our end is so near

Everyone will be washed away  
Drowning in the hell that we made  
I cannot believe that our end is so near

**--**

The day after Alice discovered that Freddy still existed, Jesse Walsh was on his way to work, a broad grin etched on his face as he walked down the sidewalk. He'd proposed to Lisa, she'd said yes, everything was perfect. They would have Lisa's dream wedding, and they'd finally be married.

Jesse was thinking about the young woman he had encountered with the other day. She'd seemed like a really sweet girl - _woman, _Jesse hadn't been sure of how old she was but she hadn't looked a day over twenty nine in his oppinion. He pictured her face in his mind, longing to see her again, then stopped. _You should be thinking about Lisa, _Jesse thought to himself, _you should be thinking about the wedding, not that Alice girl._

But this was harder than he had predicted. Sighing impatiently Jesse continued brisk-walking to work when he was suddenly caught off balance by a young girl. He looked up hopefully, expecting it to be Alice, but this girl was a lot younger than Alice, it seemed. What, did he _always _have to bump into girls in the street now? People would talk..

"Oh, sorry," The girl mumbled, biting her lip.

"It's okay," Jesse said, "So, what's your name?" He added, regretting it immidiately. What the hell? Why had he asked what her name was?

"Umm, Lori," The girl said, looking like she was about to laugh, "Why?" She added impatiently, tapping her foot on the ground.

Jesse didn't know what to say to her. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I asked that. I just - thought I recognised you from somewhere," He looked at her again. Yeah, he wasn't lying. He was sure he had seen this Lori girl somewhere before.

Lori screwed up her eyes and looked at him closely, "I bet you heard about me, huh?" She sighed, "Look, I don't care if you think I'm crazy. But what I went through was real, damnit, it was _real -" _

"Okay, okay!" Jesse cut her off, "Um, not that it's any of my business, but - why should I think you're crazy?"

Lori looked uncomfortable for a moment. "I was the girl who started that rumour about.. the guy from dreams," She looked terrified for a second, then she relaxed. "You didn't hear about it? It was about two years ago.."

Jesse froze. "Dream guy? What?" He shook his head, "No, no way.."

"What is it?" Lori answered him, looking worried.

"You're talking about Freddy Krueger, aren't you?"

Lori didn't answer for a long moment. "Yes.. you know about that?"

"Yes, I fucking know about that," Jesse said, his hands shaking, "I was fucking _part _of it. Twenty fucking years ago, I was part of that shit. Yeah, I was a victim. Only I survived it. So - he was never really gone?" He looked at her seriously, hoping that it wasn't true.

"No, he came back," Lori's lip trembled, "Listen, I feel like I know you from somewhere too, but I don't.." It was strange, her saying this, because Jesse hadn't recognised her at first but he had felt a strange connection when talking to her, the same connection he had felt when talking to Alice.

"I know," Jesse said, "Listen to me, I need you to tell me the truth - is he back?"

Lori shook her head. "I wouldn't think so. Not since I decapitated him two years back," She said coolly, looking more relaxed. "Don't worry about it. He's gone, for good. But if you were a victim who survived.. does that mean there could be more survivors?"

The thought suddenly occured to Jesse. "I guess so.. and you're sure he's gone?" He felt extremely anxious, "Because I've been having strange dreams lately. I've been going back to that house.."

"1428 Elm Street," Lori said promptly.

Jesse clicked his fingers together, "That's the one. Only, there's never anything there.. but last night," He paused and drew breath, "Last night.. I saw this kid walking up to the house. I looked inside but he wasn't there. Did that happen to you?"

"No, but I still dream about the house," Lori sighed, "It's just been haunting me ever since.." She stopped abruptly, "Listen, sir, I have to go now." She indicated at a tall young kid about her age who was waiting impatiently for her to follow him, "But if this stuff starts again, I - I'd feel better talking to you about it."

"Yeah, me too," Jesse said, "And Lori, how old are you, by the way?" He asked, suspecting that she was a teenager as she was one of the later victims of the nightmares.

Lori smiled at him, "I'm nineteen. How about you?"

"Uh, I'm thirty-six," He said, blushing when Lori gave him a weird look, "Well, I _was _one of the earlier victims. Anyway, I'll just give you my phone number. Hang on.."


	5. Chapter 4: Daddy's Home

Hello again. R&R plz. xo

Also, quick note:

I checked out a site which has a timeline about when each of the nightmare movies took place. So I know how old all of the characters are now, so I just thought I'd let you know. Alice is thirty-four years old. Jesse is thirty-six. I'm guessing that Maggie was in her late twenties during Freddy's Dead so I'm going to say that she's thirty-three. And Lori is of course nineteen. Okay that's all.

**--**

Maggie opened her eyes.

She was in the basement again. The basement of her old house, where she had lived when she was a little child. The dreams had stayed with her, but thankfully her old deadbeat Dad had not. Well, Maggie had thought he hadn't. But in truth, he was always with her; he was the one causing the nightmares.

There was nothing in the basement. It was bare and empty, like it had never been used before. But it had. Oh, yes. Maggie shuddered at the thought of what had happened here.. for a moment she even thought she saw that old claw on the table, but there was nothing there.

"_Oh Katherine.."_

Maggie jumped and turned around. Her heart sank when she saw him standing there. Her father, who she had gotten rid of years ago.. how could he be there? No, it wasn't possible. She had killed him, he was gone.

But he was there, sneering at her and licking his lips. He tilted that filthy brown hat of his slightly to the left and laughed at her. "I mean - _Maggie. _So, did you miss Daddy while he was gone?" He enquired, bursting into peals of laughter again.

"You asshole," Maggie hissed, her hands curling into fists, "You goddamn.."

"Aw, c'mon Maggie, I thought we could be _friends _again," Freddy went on, emphasising on the word "friends", "We've always had this _special bond, _you and I. And it's been so long since I last saw you.."

Maggie knew she hardly had a chance of getting out of this alive. After he'd given her this meaningless pep talk, Freddy would kill her. And what was she supposed to do? She had to wake up. Then she would have to figure something out.

_Buy yourself some time, _Maggie thought about this and knew she had no choice.

"Well? Come and give Daddy a hug, _Maggie,_" Freddy said, but he wasn't smiling anymore. Maggie's eyes dropped to his claw. The blades were twitching, Freddy was obviously eager to get some killing done right away. "Aw, don't be mad at me, Maggie. It was your mother's fault, but you know that. You found that out a long time ago." His smile returned and he chuckled. "So, do I get that hug now?"

Freddy opened his arms for her, but Maggie didn't move. She looked at that claw again, the blades were twitching endlessly. Freddy was sneering at her, if she didn't do something soon she would surely die.

Before Maggie even had a chance to think about what she was going to do, Freddy had lunged forwards at her and swiped at her with his claw. Maggie screamed and dodged it, but only just. She tried to get out of the room but the doorknob melted in her hands as she pulled at it. She looked back at Freddy. He stood opposite her, breathing heavily, ready to finish her off.

"Well, you had your chance," Freddy snarled, raising his claw, "I was going to let you live, you know. We could have been great together, you and I, Maggie. We could have finished the others off and then we could have spent some quality father-daughter time together." He chuckled, and moved steadily towards her. "But now, you've blown that. Come to Daddy, honey."

Maggie leapt out of the way as he came for her again. Freddy toppled forwards and hit the wall. He lay there for a moment, mumbling something to himself. Maggie picked herself up and glanced down at him in disdain. "I control my dreams," She whispered to herself, "I control my fucking dreams!"

A frying pan suddenly appeared on the table. Maggie grabbed it and turned towards Freddy as he was recovering. "Hey, Dad," She said, "I'd like that hug now."

Freddy grinned at her, "That's great, honey. Come over here then, will ya?" He said, and Maggie came towards him. Freddy opened his arms, ready for her. But he hadn't been ready for what Maggie did. At the very last moment, she pulled out the frying pan from behind her back and hit him right over the head with it.

Freddy cried out and fell back, hitting his head against the wall. "Bitch!" He yelled, "I'm gonna cut you up into.."

Maggie hit him again, and he slumped back against the wall, falling silent. It was then that Maggie herself woke up, panting. She held the frying pan in her hand. It was covered in blood, her old deadbeat Dad's blood.

Maggie left the shelter and went home after that. She would call Doc, and tell him about what had just happened. Then.. well, she didn't know what would happen after that. All she knew was that she needed as much help as she could get killing off her old dad again.

**--**

"How long, Jacob?"

Alice sat on the couch, staring at her son. Jacob said nothing, but he looked embarressed. It was early morning but neither of them had gotten so much as a wink of sleep. Now, Alice was question Jacob about his dreams.

"How _long?" _Alice repeated, getting angry.

"Not long," Jacob said hastily, "Just - just a few weeks ago. But I guess I'm not alone," His face darkened considerably as he looked at her, "I've seen other people - going up to the house. I don't know why.. but I just keep seeing them in my dreams."

"Other people?" Alice repeated, and realisation suddenly hit her hard, "Oh my god.. there's _more _of them." She stood up and began to pace the living area of their appartment, "Jacob.. did you by any chance see a tall guy with fair hair when you visited the house at any time?"

Jacob thought hard. "No, but then again I can never remember many of the dreams." He sighed, "I just keep going to that house!" His voice was filled with frustration and he hung his head. "It's all my fault, isn't it? This is how it happened the last time."

Alice was shocked by his words. "No, Jacob. It's not your fault. How could you possibly think that?" She sighed and dismissed the idea quickly, but at the back of her mind she knew it was exactly the same thing as last time, "Jacob, I don't think we're the only ones.."

Jacob looked at her, surprised. "What d'you mean?"

"I think there are others," Alice sat down beside him and put her arm around him, "But it's okay, because we're going to find them and warn them. And _you're _gonna be okay, so don't start getting _any _ideas that _you're _the one whose causing this, okay?"

Jacob nodded and swallowed hard. "I'm just.. scared. That's all." He said in a tiny voice.

"I'm scared too, Jacob," Alice sighed and rested her head on her son's shoulder. He was all she had left now. She couldn't, wouldn't lose him now.

Yes, she didn't have anyone else left besides him. Alice's father had died of heart disease several years ago. Although she was slowly getting used to life without him, Alice still lay awake for endless hours during the night thinking about him. She often thought about Yvonne, aswell, who had died two years ago in a car accident. She had been pregnant aswell.

No, everyone close to Alice was gone. She only had Jacob to hold onto now. And if she lost him to that son of a bitch.. well, god help her. She would fight. Oh yes, Alice had never been one to just back down. If Freddy was back, that was bad news. But if she had to fight, well then, so be it. She would.

She _had _to.

**--**

Lori had been heading to her first class when Will approached her. "Hey," He said happily, kissing her lightly and grinning.

"Hey," Lori said breathlessly, still thinking about her encounter with Jesse the other day, "Will, I need to tell you something. It's really important, so you have to listen to me and you have to try to comprehend with what I'm about to tell you."

Will looked worried now. "What? What is it?" He said.

Lori sighed and drew breath, "Okay.. I think that maybe - maybe Krueger's back." She felt a rush of anxiety just thinking about it. "I met this guy, you know, the guy I was talking to the other day? He was a _victim, _Will, way back during the eighties I think."

Will was astounded by this. "Lori.. you know we beat him. Let it rest, for god's sake." He sounded annoyed and Lori was surprised at his reaction.

"Will! There are other people who've been through this! It's not just us! Beat him? Did we hell.." Lori was angry now. She glared at him and began to walk off, but Will quickly caught up with her and grabbed her arm.

"Okay. So maybe other people have been through what we went through," He said calmly, "But Lori, just tell me - what evidence do you have that tells us he's back?"

Lori considered. "Well, there's the dreams!" She exclaimed, which turned a few heads of people who had been nearby at the time. "The guy's been having the same dreams as me. You know, where I've visited the house? Oh come _on, _Will, you have to believe me!"

She stared at him in exasperation but Will shook his head, sighing. "I'm sorry Lori, I just can't believe you when you say he's back," He said, "Jason beat him. Practically disembowled him._You _even ripped his head off. Now _you _tell _me _how anyone could possibly come back after having all that done to them."

Lori looked away, feeling a million miles away from him. "He's not human.." She muttered, then her eyes fell upon him again. "I've got a class.. just think about what I said, okay?" She cast a severe look at him and Will nodded. Then, before he could call after her, Lori was out of sight.


	6. Chapter 5: Coming Together

That night, Alice sat alone in her bedroom, sobbing into her pillow. Fuck.. she had been an absolute fool to think even for a moment that Freddy had vanished without a trace. It had been plain from the start that the bastard would come back, and now that he had, Alice didn't know what to do.

She could fight, but what if Freddy had evolved since the last time they'd faced eachother? Yes, of course he would have _evolved_ since then. He could screw with your mind in so many different ways before, so Alice dreaded to think of what he had planned for her now.

_Won't go to sleep._

Alice had promised herself that she would stay awake. _For as long as it takes, _she thought to herself, biting her lip as more tears flooded down her cheeks and onto the pillow. She sat up and dried her eyes, then noticed that something was wrong.

The temperature of the room seemed to have dropped to about minus one degree's. Alice shivered and rubbed her eyes, hoping against hope that she hadn't fallen asleep. _Fuck, I've fallen asleep.. _obscene images began to enter Alice's mind. She saw herself being gutted by Freddy, saw Jacob with no one to protect him..

"Alice."

Alice shrieked and jerked her head around, clutching the pillow against her chest. Her eyes widened in horror. There, standing right there before her very eyes was Kristen Parker. Her ex-best friend. The girl who had shoved the burden of Freddy Krueger onto _her._

Kristen definitely didn't look a pretty sight. Her once blonde hair was blackened as was her face. The night gown she had been wearing was ripped. She looked awful, but then Alice remembered Kristen's fate when she and Alice had been trapped in the dream world. The poor girl had been burned alive.

"Alice, don't scream," Kristen whispered, "Come on, take a deep breath. Relax."

Although she was terrifed, Alice obeyed her and took a deep breath, untill she was finally feeling more relaxed and had calmed down. "Kristen? What the hell are you doing here?" She asked Kristen, who looked uncomfortable and, to Alice's surprise, guilty.

"You really thought you could beat him, just like that?" Kristen chuckled lightly and shook her head, "Oh, Alice.. you'll never change, will you?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Alice said, flaring up, "Kristen, what the - ?"

"If you want to defeat him, you've got to trick him. Fuck with his mind," Kristen went on, ignoring her, "I was as blind as a bat before, when It was me fighting him. But now I know how you can put a stop to him once and for all." She raised her hand as Alice opened her mouth in protest. "Are you going to listen to me?" Kristen asked.

Alice sighed. "Okay.. but first, tell me what you're doing here. You're not alive.. so how - ?"

"- How could I be here if I'm not alive?" Kristen laughed, "Well, I'm not alive, obviously. But I can still get around, Alice. You'd be surprised," She smiled, and Alice was reminded of how happy her old best friend had been before her life had been taken from her so many years ago. The thought made her nauseaus.

Kristen's face fell a mile right then. "Anyway.. what I'm trying to say is that I've spent a lot of time in the dream world. By means I _know _Freddy now. And I know what he can do aswell. He just fucks with your mind, Alice. And that's why I'm here. That's why we're all here."

Alice was confused. "All here? What d'you mean, Kris?"

Kristen clicked her fingers and other people began to appear at her side. Alice recognised many of them instantly. There was Kincaid, who didn't look too badly scarred except for a few cuts and bruises on his arms. Then Alice noticed his stomach and gagged.

Joey was covered in blood from head to foot, but he still managed a smile for her. Greta's cheeks were awfully bloated. She nodded sadly at Alice and Dan appeared. Alice was quite shocked by his appearance. Nearly all of his flesh had been completely ripped away.

There were other people there that Alice didn't recognise. A blonde girl covered in blood like Joey was standing nearby. A girl with a mowhawk haircut stood by Kristen and sighed. There was kid with no ear. A slightly older looking girl with frizzy brown hair stood close to Kristen. Her chest was covered in blood.

Then, Alice let out a scream when some sort of bug creature appeared. She couldn't stop screaming. The thing just looked so grotesque that Alice nearly threw up. "Shut the fuck up Alice, it's me, all right?"

Alice stopped screaming and tears formed in her eyes. "_Debbie?_" She squeaked, shaking her head at her friend. "Debbie.. what the hell did he do to you?"

Debbie didn't answer. Suddenly, the older girl with brown hair piped up. "Hey, Alice." She said.

Alice stared at her. "Hello.. who are you?" She mumbled.

The girl smiled at her. "I'm Nancy, Kristen's friend. We all heard that Krueger was back, and we want to help you." She explained, "I know you're refusing to believe that he's back. But he is, Alice, and if you let us help you then I'm sure we can find a way to stop him."

"Stop him? _Stop him?_" Alice laughed and Nancy was taken aback by her tone of voice. "You're fucking delusional. There's _no way _anyone can stop him. I tried. _Twice. _And guess what? I still failed." Her heart pounded in her ears and she drew breath. "Just don't tell me that there's a way we can stop him. Because there isn't, okay?"

Nancy smiled sadly. "Honey, I've been up against him so many time's that I've lost count," She sighed and shook her head, "Atleast listen to us. Like Kristen said, we've been hanging around the Dream World for so long now that we know a lot about Freddy and his ways."

Kristen took over now, "Exactly. So, are you willing to listen to us, Alice?" Everyone glanced at Alice hopefully. Alice didn't know what to say to them. She closed her eyes briefly, then said: "All right. I'll listen."

x

Meanwhile, Maggie was sitting at her desk, browsing the internet for answers, but at the same time talking on the phone to Doc. "I'm telling you, Doc. He's back. He just came out of fucking nowehere.." Maggie's eyes screwed up as she stared blankly at the computer screen. "Listen Doc, I'm fucking scared.. is there any way you could come over here?" She rolled her eyes, "Oh, come on. This is serious, Doc. I almost _died _tonight." She felt tears felling up in her eyes.. "Well, okay then!"

Maggie slammed the phone down and turned her attention back to the screen. "Mysterious killings in Springwood.." She said aloud, staring hard at the screen, at an article that had come up. "1988.. 1989.. Alice Johnson?" Maggie sat bolt upright. Alice Johnson. Finally, a fucking name.

"Alice Johnson, seventeen, has been spinning tales of a killer who kills in people's dreams. She describes the killer to be badly burnt, wearing a red and green sweater, and a dirty brown hat." Maggie said, reading on, "She says the man's name is Freddy Krueger, a child murderer from decades ago who killed many children in Springwood.."

Maggie looked for a date of when the article had been written. 1988, it said. Great. That had been years ago.. for all Maggie knew the girl could already be dead. Maggie decided not to give up. She punched in Alice Johnson and searched, finally finding a picture of Alice.

Well, it _could _be Alice. For all Maggie knew this could just be some other girl named Alice Johnson. Then Maggie noticed the date. January 2003. The picture itself showed Alice and a friend out partying. Maggie gazed somewhat fondly at them. It had been ages since _she _had had a good night out.

Then suddenly Maggie froze. Underneath the picture, someone had written: "_Alice and I having a night out in New York"._

Well, that was good enough for Maggie. Now all she had to do was find this Alice Johnson and warn her of what was yet to come.


	7. Chapter 6: Help From The Beyond

"He doesn't have a weakness."

"Bullshit, that's just what he wants you to believe."

"Then what is it?"

"Well, you guys are the last survivors of Freddy. He thought by wiping out all the kids in Springwood he'd beable to find some way of getting back into the real world. I don't even understand it.. but we think that's it. So it's -"

"Wait a second. Last survivors? What do you mean? Who else survived?"

"A few people did. You're the second survivor, Alice. But there were more after you."

Alice tried to take this in. She was still in shock. Nancy and Kristen were here, explaining all this to her. But they were dead.. how the hell could they be here, now? "How did you guys even get here? Aren't your.. souls, in torment?" She enquired.

"No, you set a few of us free, remember Alice?" Kristen clicked her tounge, rolling her eyes. "Have you forgotten _everything _that happened before? Or have you just tried to blot it out from memory?" She sighed, "You can't do that, Alice. You've got to face up to him some time."

"Well, it's easy for you, you're _dead,_" Alice hissed, "You don't have to deal with the pressure.." Tears burned in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

Nancy suddenly reached out to touch her, but her hand shot right through Alice's shoulder. Alice shuddered and leaned back. "I'm sorry, Alice," Nancy said sadly, "I wish there was more we could do for you. I can only give you so much advice, then you're on your own."

Alice nodded, appreciating any help they could give her.

"You have to find the other survivors," Nancy said, "You've got to warn them. Make them believe. They'll believe you, they've got to. Or Freddy'll find some way of using you all to get back into the real world."

Alice stared at her in horror. "He won't try to use Jacob again, will he?"

Nancy looked worried. She exchanged glances with Kristen, who finally answered after much hesitation, "It's possible. He could use all of you. That's why you have to find eachother and work together. Before, it was only one person up against Freddy. _We _think, that if there's a group of you - you could finally finish him off."

"D'you know who the other survivors are, exactly?" Alice asked.

"Well, there are a few," Nancy explained, "I can only give you their names, not their locations. That's something you'll have to figure out yourself," When Alice nodded, Nancy continued, "Well, there's you. But then there's the first suvivor - after me, of course - his name is Jesse Walsh. Freddy used him to actually come into the real world. He actually forced Jesse to kill, using Jesse's body."

Alice's heart skipped a beat. "Jesse? No.. I know that guy. I met him on the street corner this week."

Nancy smiled, "Then you'll know exactly where to find him, won't you?" She said.

"No, I don't -"

"Then after him we have _you, _The Dream Master." Kristen carried on, ignoring her, "But of course there was your little friend, Yvonne. You'd better find her, Alice. She could be on Freddy's list too."

Alice was stunned at this. She had forgotten all about Yvonne. "No.. Yvonne died in a car crash a few years back." She said, her heart plummeting. Nancy and Kristen suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"Sorry.." Nancy said quietly, then quickly changed the subject, "Then, Maggie Burroughs. Also known as Katherine Krueger. She was -"

"Freddy's daughter?" Alice said, taking the words out of her mouth.

"Yes, Freddy's daughter. She worked at a children's shelter and I believe she still does somewhere in New York, but I can't specify on which one," Nancy said, "She's still Maggie Burroughs, though. But she wasn't the final survivor. There's Lori Campbell. Freddy once picked a fight with Jason Voorhees, but I won't go into telling you about him.." She said, "Not right now, anyway. But Lori and her friend, Will.. they got past Krueger aswell. So altogether there are five of you, Alice. You, Jesse, Maggie, Lori and Will. You have to find them."

"Are they all in New York?" Alice asked.

"I told you, I don't know exactly," Nancy replied, and she began to fade away. "But you can find them, I know you can. If you really believe that Krueger is back you'll find them, and you'll all think of some way to beat him."

"We might not be back to help you, Alice," Kristen injected, staring sadly at her friend, "But if we aren't, good luck."

"Hey, wait a -" Alice began to cry out, but Nancy, Kristen and the other victims were already out of sight. Alice sat there on her bed, duvet pulled up to her knees. She sat there sobbing for a long while before going to Jacob's room. He was awake.

_Good, _Alice thought bitterly, _But how the hell am I going to find them all?_


End file.
